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Make fabulous compost - Indoor or Out with the help of earthworms The best kind of earthworm to use in a vermicomposting is the redworm because they prefer an environment with more organic matter than soil. The redworms are known by many names depending upon what part of the country you are in. Mail-order redworms are most commonly the Eisenia fetida which are identified by the alternate light and dark coloring of the segments, giving a striped appearance like a tiger tail. Another type of redworm, Eisenia andrei, resembles Eisenia fetida in almost all ways except for the lack of striping between the segments caused by a lack of membrane pigmentation. Redworms are very active, digest raw organic material and produce their weight in castings every day. Earthworm castings are a natural by-product of earthworms and are rich in organic matter and considered one of nature’s finest sources of plant food. Adding a generous amount of worm castings to soil encourages beneficial soil organisms, promotes rapid plant growth without burning, improves drainage in tight, clay soils and increases water retention in loose, sandy soils. The University of Florida ran an analysis of a soil from an earthworm bed giving the following results. The values are the total amounts present in the soil. This analysis is not to be construed as average or typical, however, it does indicate that the bedding material was quite high in nutrients compared to a sandy Florida soil. (Market Consideration for Earthworm Enterprises)Percentages of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium in worm castings Nitrogen (N) 1.74% Phosphorus (P) 0.67% Potassium (K) 0.96% Top of Page | Order Form | Home Page K & W RABBIT AND WORM FARM P.O.Box 50691 Fort Myers, FL. 33994 Tel/Fax (941) 543-2620 e-mail: kwfarm@msn.com
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